Recipes

For years I considered cauliflower to be the ugly step brother to broccoli. It doesn’t have much taste, tends to make your refrigerator smell funky and let’s be honest, it looks like brains.

These days, I use cauliflower a million different ways. My favorites being cauliflower rice and cauliflower NACHOS! It also makes a good roasting vegetable to bulk up veggie heavy meals like buddha bowls. It’s actually a pretty versatile vegetable.

And it turns out it’s also a great vegetable for fermenting! Add in the smokey flavor of chipotle peppers and you have yourself some of the best cauliflower you’ve ever had!

This kombucha recipe combines the sweetness of pineapple with the heat of cayenne pepper! I hope it reminds you of the island life!

My trip to Hawaii had me craving all things pineapple once I returned home. Since I am a spice lover, I thought it would be fun to heat it up a bit with some cayenne pepper. Drinking this pineapple and cayenne pepper kombucha gives me that relaxed feeling of swinging in a hammock on a tropical beach.

There are two types of people in the world: those that like deep dish pizza and those that like thin crust pizza. And then there is me and I’m happy to eat whatever kind of pizza is served to me. I just want to eat pizza!

I will say overall I prefer a thinner crust pizza, simply because it doesn’t leave me feeling as stuffed as a pan style does. So, once we got our sourdough starter going, I knew I wanted to develop a recipe for a sourdough pizza dough ASAP! This dough is made with thin & crispy pizza lovers in mind. The crust turns out cracker thin and tastes delicious. In fact, it reminds me of a small family owned pizza shop in my hometown. I wonder if sourdough has been their secret all along? Hmmm…

It’s nearly spring here in Wisconsin which means asparagus season is right around the corner. I can’t wait to get my hands on some when the Dane County Farmers’ Market opens back up next month!

Side note: if you have any plans to visit Madison, this farmers’ market needs to be on your list of things to do. It’s actually the largest producer-only market in the U.S. and is one of my favorite things to do in all of Madison!

The asparagus at the grocery store is looking better and better each week, so I picked up a couple bunches to start experimenting with. The exciting part is my first attempt turned out amazing. This recipe features garlic, dill, and mustard seed, and the flavor is out of this world. The stalks stay nice and crisp too!

And, I KNOW these fermented asparagus stalks will be a hit at your next bloody mary bar! 😉

For this Fermented Asparagus with Garlic and Dill recipe, you’ll need:

Next, break off the woody ends of the asparagus and cut the stalks to a size so they will fit under the lip of the jar. The bunches I bought happened to be the perfect size when cut in half.

Then smash the garlic cloves and add half of them to each jar. Followed by adding 2-3 sprigs of dill and 1/4 tsp of mustard seeds (optional) to each jar. The mustard seeds give the finished product a very subtle mustard taste. If you don’t have any mustard seeds on hand, the asparagus will still be delicious without.

Then turn the jars on their side and stack the stalks. You’ll want to keep adding stalks until you absolutely can’t fit anymore in.

Once full, turn the jars right side up and fill with the salt water you set aside earlier. Place the lids on the jar and leave to ferment at room temperature for 3-4 days. “Burp” the jars once a day to release any built up pressure. Then transfer to the door of the refrigerator to slowly ferment for another 5-7 days.

Crack them open and try not to eat an entire jar in one sitting!

Optional: Instead of using a metal lid, use an airlock (like The Easy Fermenter) lid. This will create an anaerobic environment for your ferment, but will still allow for air to escape. You won’t need to “burp” your ferment when using an airlock.

Add some fun flavor to carrots by fermenting them with ginger and turmeric!

I’ve been really loving the ease of grab and go fermented vegetables lately! My favorites so far have been spicy lacto-fermented carrot sticks and garlicy fermented asparagus, but I felt it was time to switch it up with a new flavor.

Ginger and turmeric is popping up everywhere and the flavors go really well together, so why not flavor some carrot sticks with them?

To make these ginger and turmeric fermented carrot sticks, you’ll need:

Glass jar with lid (I used a regular 32oz mason jar but you could use two pint size jars as well)

Then peel and trim the carrots and cut into sticks. You’ll want the length of your sticks to be short enough so they fit just under the rim of the jar.

Next, slice the ginger.

Now it’s time to pack your jar. Start with turning your jar on its side. This will make it easier to stack the carrot sticks. First add in half of the ginger and then fill half way with sticks.

Add in the rest of the ginger and then fill the remaining space with sticks. You’ll want to pack in the carrot sticks until you absolutely cannot fit anymore in. This helps with keeping the sticks submerged in brine.

Once you have filled your jar with the carrots sticks, turn it right side up and fill with the salt water you had set aside. Make sure all sticks are covered. Finally, sprinkle in the turmeric and cap the jar. To distribute the turmeric in the jar just gently give it a few shakes. Be sure to write the name of the ferment and the date on the jar. I use this chalkboard marker pen on my jars and bottles.

Let sit at room temperature for 2-3 days. You’ll start seeing a little bubbling going on and you’ll know the fermenting has started. At this point transfer the jar to the door of your refrigerator (it’s the warmest part) and let sit for another 10 days. And enjoy! Be sure to open carefully the first time as this food is alive and the brine might try escaping (AKA: overflow out of the jar and make a mess).

They’re alive!

Once fully fermented, store them on shelf in your refrigerator. Though they will still ferment, the colder temperature will slow the process way down.

As we head into spring, it’s only natural to feel the urge to get rid of all the junk our bodies have stored throughout winter. I’m planning to stack my spring meal planning with foods rich in chlorophyll for all kinds of detoxification benefits. Enter my friends: cilantro and parsley!

Cilantro is known to be a natural chelator and aids in reducing levels of heavy metal in the body. Parsley is good for detoxifying the kidneys and has been shown to have a detoxifying effect on the liver as well. Both foods are most powerful in their raw state, so why not ferment them?

This detoxifying sauerkraut recipe is actually a double dose of detoxification for your body. Not only does it feature chlorophyll-rich cilantro and parsley but it’s SAUERKRAUT, which is a detoxifying food in itself.

If you’ve been following me on Instagram then you know I’ve been working on a sourdough bread recipe for months and months. I set out to create a super easy recipe that still tastes really good. A homemade bread recipe for non-bakers if you will.

I experimented with different flours, temperatures, pans and methods and think I’ve finally nailed it with the recipe in this post. I love that this recipe is easy to follow and doesn’t require a ton of steps before baking. I love kneading and punching, but sometimes I just want to bake already! So, if you’re an actual bread baker, then you might as well click away now because I am sure my method will make you cringe. But the bottom line – it’s easy, it works, and it tastes SO GOOD. Plus, your house will smell like fresh baked sourdough. That’s a win in itself.

Sauerkraut is a superfood on its own, long known for its digestive, detoxing and immune boosting benefits. This recipe takes it to another level with the addition of turmeric, ginger and carrots: MORE SUPERFOODS!

Why Turmeric, Ginger and Carrots are Superfoods

Turmeric has received a lot of attention lately with an emphasis on its ability to help your body fight inflammation. While the research is still in its infancy, cultures all over the world have been using it to promote healing for thousands of years. It also adds a unique flavor to your meals and a beautiful golden color as well.

Ginger has also seen a rise in popularity in the last decade. Many people use ginger to help with nausea, motion sickness and even morning sickness associated with pregnancy. It’s also known for its ability to help with digestion and stomach upset which is why many tea companies sell an after dinner tea containing ginger.

Carrots might be the most popular superfood in this recipe and that’s because they contain beta-carotene. Our bodies use beta-carotene to make vitamin A; which among other things, helps maintain healthy eyes.

Though the superfood benefits of these foods are exciting, the taste is what excites me the most. I think you’re going to love this Superfood Sauerkraut! Enjoy!

I’m a experimentalist by nature. I rarely follow a recipe to a T. I never take the time to read directions. And I will generally try anything once. And this might be why I’ve fallen in love with fermenting things. It’s pretty difficult to have something be a complete failure and it’s easy to adjust with time and temperature.

Today, I’m sharing a recipe for a fermented cranberry topping. This is actually the first time I thought I may have had a fermentation failure on my hands. I opened and tasted it at the seven day mark and boy was it not good. Unless you’re into cranberries that taste like rubbing alcohol. I almost threw it out, but figured I had invested in the ingredients, prep, and fermentation time so far. What did I have to lose by letting it ferment longer?

Fast forward a month and SUCCESS! I have myself a jar of fermented cranberry topping. It no longer smells of or tastes like alcohol. In fact, it smells like fall and Thanksgiving to me. The addition of cloves, cinnamon, and orange juice are aromatic!

You may be thinking, that sounds good but what would I use it for?

That’s a great question. And so far, I’ve used it two different ways.

The first is on top of yogurt. The creaminess of full fat greek yogurt mellows out the tartness of the cranberries, so you can really taste the orange, cinnamon and clove flavors.

I’ve also used it in my daily smoothies! Depending on the add-ins, sometimes I notice the cranberries and sometimes I don’t. It’s nice to know I am getting a little extra vitamin C by including them though. In my usual smoothie of spinach, water, greek yogurt, unsweetened coconut flakes, protein powder and ground flax seeds, I will get hints of cranberry and orange. If I add in blueberries, I don’t notice those flavors.

Now, another way I want to try it is on top of vanilla ice cream! I think that would be amazing. Please let me know if you give it a try. 🙂 Ok, on to the recipe.

For Fermented Cranberry Topping, you’ll need:

4 cups cranberries

1 cinnamon stick, cracked

1″ hunk of ginger

zest of 1 small lemon

juice of 1 large orange

1 tsp sea salt

1/3 cup raw honey

filtered or spring water

First, add the cranberries, cinnamon stick and ginger to your food processor and pulse a few times. Just until everything is roughly chopped.

Be sure to use a non-iodized salt and raw unpasteurized honey. This is important in ensuring the contents of the jar will actually ferment.

Fill the rest of the space with filtered water, leaving about 1″ of head room at the top.

Cap the jar and shake until everything is combined. Then remove the cap and add weights and an airlock device. I used the Pickle Pusher from Ultimate Pickle Jar for this recipe. It’s an “all in one” weight and airlock device. It uses a plunger to hold everything under the brine plus a lid and airlock so you can get a true anaerobic environment for your ferment. It worked like a charm and I loved that I didn’t have to rig up any sort of weight. I will note that after posting this photo on Twitter, the maker of the Pickle Pusher reached out to me to let me know it’s generally meant to fit closer to the top of the jar. I just didn’t have quite enough “stuff” in the jar! It still did it’s job anyway.

Let sit at room temperature for approximately 30 days, then move to the refrigerator. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

I think it’s time to tell you about one of my other favorite probiotic packed beverages: WATER KEFIR.

You’ve seen me talk a lot about kombucha, but the truth is I’ve been making water kefir longer than I’ve been making kombucha. I was first introduced to water kefir during our time in Guatemala as the local fermented food and beverage company produced a peach tibicos that I loved. It was yummy but definitely tasted different from kombucha. After a few bottles, I figured it was time to Google to figure out what the heck I was drinking. Turns out tibicos is another word for water kefir which didn’t really answer any questions for me because I had never heard of water kefir either.

What is water kefir?

Water kefir (or tibicos) is a cultured beverage. It’s made by adding water kefir grains to sugar water and allowing to culture for 1-2 days. Water kefir grains are little symbiotic colonies of bacteria and yeast that feed on sugar water. I should note that they aren’t really grains in a traditional sense and there is no gluten involved. The word grains simply refers to their size and shape.

Why should I drink water kefir?

Water kefir contains probiotics. Probiotics can aid in digestion and boost your immune system as they help your body improve the health of your gut microbiome. Plus, water kefir is a fizzy and tasty beverage! It might just be the key to help you kick your soda habit for good!

What does water kefir taste like?

Plain water kefir doesn’t have much of a taste. I would describe it as slightly sweet with an earthy and yeasty finish to it. While it’s totally fine to drink as is, it’s much more fun and yummy to flavor it. You can flavor with fresh or frozen fruit, vegetables, juices, herbs or spices. Let your imagination run wild.

Why drink water kefir instead of kombucha?

Personally, I drink both. However, I tend to notice more of a digestive benefit from drinking water kefir. Here are a few reasons why you might prefer water kefir over kombucha:

No caffeine. Kombucha is tea based so it contains caffeine. People who avoid caffeine or are sensitive to it cannot drink kombucha. Water kefir is water based and does not contain caffeine. This makes it a good choice for kids, water kefir is said to be nature’s soda!

It’s not tart. Many people do not care for the tart or vinegary flavor of kombucha. Water kefir is completely different; it’s slightly sweet and generally tastes like whatever you flavor it with.

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Disclaimer

We’re not medical professionals and we don’t claim to know it all. We are two people who have found success physically, mentally, and emotionally by focusing on stuff that DOES matter and getting rid of the junk that DOESN’T. Please contact your doctor before making any changes to your diet or exercise program. Thank you